Conveyer-propelled supply truck for use with shaking conveyers



Patented July 7, 1953 UNITED STATES CONVEYER-PROPELLED SUPPLY TRUCK FORUSE WITH SHAKING CONVEYERS Joseph F. Joy, Pittsbur gh, Pa., assignor toJoy Manufacturing Company, Pittsburgh, la., a

corporation of Pennsylvania Application February 25, 1949, Serial No,78,274

Claims. (Cl. 198-220) I This invention relates to a conveyor-propelledsupply truck for use with shaking conveyors of the type employed inmining.

Shaker conveyors are extensively employed in mines, and particularly inmines where low head room makes other means of transportation diflioult.Such conveyors extend from the actual point at which mining operationsare being carried on to a suitable car loading or discharge point, andaccordingly extend along a path over constructed in accordance with myinvention which implements, roof supports, and the like mounteduponareciprocating conveyor trough. must be transported. These articles,being heavy Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the supp y truck and anddifiicult to handle where the roof is low, are of the portion of theshaker conveyor pan line commonly placedon supply trucks which are shownin Fi v V. moved along the conveyor pan line. The trucks Fi 3 is avertical transverse section on an may be moved manually. They may betowed by enlarged scale, the section bein aken on the lines, or may becaused to traverse the pan line planes of the line 3 3 of Fig. 2.automatically by motion derived from the pan i s n ed-ira ta y sideelevaline itself. Such trucks may be utilized in the l vi w, with partsbroken away, showin 8 transportation of passengers also. 2-9 or theintermittent gripping devices emp y in A primary object of thisinvention is the proeff ctin m v ment of the truck in one directionvision of an improved truck which may be caused along the Da l n to movebetween the working face and some rela- NOW referring more particularlyto the drawtively remote point, and to convey aload, as, for ings, therey be oted at it a portion of a example, mine props or the like, towardthe Shaker conveyor trough Da li e. This is working face, and to carryout items which it e i shown as supported not by t ust ma y is desiredto remove from the working face. A ball frames but by means of rubbertired wheels further and more specific object of the invention eachjournaled up n a suitable axle I2 is the provision of an improved truckof such r i y an p i ly i t anscharacter, having supporting wheelsadapted to Versely extending Support member 3, to which a be Supportedupon t edges of t conveyor pan section is connected, desirably at oradjacent trough and to move therealong, and having imone O the latterand the underlying 11- proved meansfor effecting movement along thep01"t frame 13 has eyes M w ich are adapted conveyor trough. Anotherobject of the inven- P be connected F coflfesponding y s 011 an adtionis to provide an improved truck of the char- J t D S o y the Xten$i0n ofbolts acter mentioned which will automatically return to its'startingpoint remote from the working face unless either detained positively atthe Working face or rendered operative, under control means carriedthereby, to travel toward the working face. Another object of theinvention is to provide an improved feeding means for a truck of thecharacter described having improved means whereby the same may berendered inoperative at will. Still another object of the invention isto provide an improved feeding means for a truck of the characterdescribed having means by which it may be automatically renderedinoperative when it arrives at a desired point, by engagement withabutment means arranged at such point. Still a further object of theinvention is to provide an improved truck of the character mentionedhaving improved feeding means fri'ctionally engageable at will with thebottoms of the flanges at the sides of the pan line. Still anotherobjectof the invention is to 4 of the latter.

provide an improved truck of the character de scribed having improvedmeans for conveying a load without requiring excessive height in themine passages. Other objects and advantages of the invention willhereinafter more fully'appear.

In the accompanying drawings, in which for purposes of illustration apreferred embodiment I of my invention has been shown,

Fig. l is a top plan view showing a supply truck therethrough in amanner readily understood by those familiar with this art.

I he pan line or shaker conveyor trough [0 may be reciprocated by anysuitable means.

Such shaker conveyor drives are well known to' the art, and as thedetails of the pan line reciprocating mechanism do not per se'form apart of my invention, they are not illustrated. It will be understood,however, that the pan line will be alternately moved outwardly away fromthe working face at a relatively slow speed, and moved inwardly at arelatively higher speed whereby material carried on the pan line willmove with the latter on its outward movements but will have the latterslide beneath itduring the more-rapid inward movements, with a'resultthat the material will be moved in a series of short steps progressivelyfrom the place of its deposit on the pan line to the The pan line troughor conveyor pan sections point of discharge 3 H] are provided withoutturned, rounded flanges 16 which constitute rails or guides alongwhich the truck in which my invention is incorporated is adapted tomove. 1

The supply car is generally designated 26. It is supported by wheels 2ltwo, as illustrated, at either end thereof, the wheels being supportedby suitable bearings 22 on axle elements 23. The axle elements are fixedbetween angle plates 24 and spaced upright plate portions 25 which areparts of inverted U-shaped frame or bracing elements 26, herein shown asof built up construction and provided with downwardly sloping oppositeends 27. The plates 24 and bracing eiements 25 are herein shown aswelded together. The upright plate portions 25 are secured at theirlower, inner ends as by welding to angle irons or other suitable sill ormainframe members 22 extending longitudinally of the truck. A suitablyshaped top and cover and reinforcing member 29 extends lengthwisebetween the frame or bracing elements 26 and is suitably secured tothem. This, with its angularly related bottom portions 3c secured to theends 2'1, forms the inner side walls and bottoms of storage compartmentslater mentioned. Fixed to the outer ends of the downwardly sloping ends2? of the frame elements 26 are the vertical legs 32 of invertedU-shaped frames 33 which have hinge pin receiving openings 34 at theiropposite top corners, by means of which there may be provided bearingsfor the pivot rods of side covers 35 for upright side compartments 33 ofthe truck body located outwardly of the upright plate portions 25. Theseside covers are provided between their ends with pivot mountings '37 forlock bars 38 which are tiltableby an operating portion 39 so astorelease them from looking engagement with sockets 40 provided bykeeper elements ii welded or otherwise suitably held to the uprights 32.It will be noted that the side compartments 3B are adapted, since theyextend at their bottoms down below the axles of the supporting wheels Ii, to carry a substantial load of mine props or other articles withouthaving any of the load piled a substantial distance above the top of thetruck proper. The truck can, of course, where headroom permits, be alsoloaded by superimposing upon its top additional items to be moved.However, it is noteworthy that the main enclosed load carrying chambersare disposed to the outside of the conveyor trough or pan line andextend actually below the bottom of the latter.

I have found that with an arrangement such as has been so far describedthe truck, if arranged on the shaker conveyorpan line at a point betweenthe ends thereof, will, if the pan line is reciprocated in the mannerabove described, move promptly out towards the outer end of the panline, that is, away from the'working face. This I attribute to the factthat during the relatively slow outward movements of the flanges oi thepan line the wheels 2| may roll outwardly, whereas during the rapidinward movement of the pan line beneath the wheels, there will beinitiated, as it were, a spinning of the wheels in a direction to causethe supply truck to roll away from the workingface. In other words, thewheels during the relatively rapid inward movement of the pan linebeneath them have two things happen; the wheels are caused to tend torotate in the direction they would rotate in carrying the truck out ofthe mine, and, after the velocity of the pan line gets 52,644,573 M h W4 such as to cause a slippagev relative to the wheels and beneath thelatter, there is a bodily relative movement of the pan line relative tothe truck inwardly, so that only inthe event that there should be acorresponding outward movement of the pan line relative to the truckwould there be no net outward movement of the truck at the end of acomplete cycle of reciprocation. During the relatively slow outwardmovement of the pan line the relative velocities are not great enough tocause slippage of the pan line relative to the wheels, and instead thewheels, which have a tendency to roll outwardly because of the rotativemovement previously imparted to them, do roll along the relativelyoutwardly moving pan line with a result that there is a progressiveoutward movement of the truck as a whole. The explanation I have givenmay unduly simplify matters, and is to be understood as being merely mybest understanding of what takes place, but if the explanation is notwholly correct, this does not derogate from the factof operativeness andisnot .to prejudice the inven-. tion whose structure is illustrated anddescribed.

Since the truck will run out of the mine While the conveyor pan line isreciprocating unless it is prevented from doing so, it will evidently benecessary to provide some means for causing it to move into the mine.This can be done by providineffective at will, and it isalso desirablethat they be capable of being 'rendered inoperative automatically uponattainment of the truck to any desired point at which its movement intoIntermittent grip devices are associated with the truck at pointsadjacent each wheel thereof. Each includes, pivotally mounted at A3 uponone of the axles 23, betweenthe wheel. 2i thereon and the vertical plate25, a depending arm as, which is connected pivotally as at 5 at itslower end to a pin 46 mounted in an angle elelhe angle elements i! ateither side;

ment M. of the truck are considerably elongated and they extend from apoint beyond the wheel at the end of the-truck which is the front end asthe truck moves into'the mine, to a point beyond the wheel which istoward the back end of the truck It will be appreciated, therefore,since the eifective lengths as the latter moves into the mine.

of the arms are'the same, that these angle bars or elements 41 have aparallel motion connection with the truck axles. -Each element d lcarries,

as shown, a pair of upwardly extending, elongated friction members 48,these being transversely curved, and adapted to cooperate-with theconcave bottom surfaces of the flanges 56, and each arranged in aposition generally beheath a truck wheel. The length ofthe arms M or,more mathematically stated, the distance between the axes of thepivotsfilS and 45, is such that when the arms 44 hang vertically therewill be no frictional gripping by the members 4 8 with the bottoms ofthe flanges !6, but when the arms ts are swung through even a relativelyfew degrees out of the vertically depending position, there will be alifting of the angle elements t? and the friction members 48 relative tothe flanges l 6 sufficient to cause a gripping action.

Means is provided for yieldingly forcing the angle elements 4 1 towardsthe right in Figs. 2 and 4, so as to cause an automatic gripping betweenthe friction members 48. and the flanges i t to take place,'and thismeans has associated with it means for rendering it inoperative at will.Noting Figs. 1, 2 and 4, it will be seen that rods 58 are loosely guidedat their ends'remote from the angle elements 4'! in holes 5! in members52 fixed to the frame of the truck. At their other ends the rods 59 arethreaded. as at 53, and their threaded ends are secured to members 5%fixedly connected to the angl frames 4?. Longitudinal adjustment of therods 58 with respect to the angle elements 47 may be effected by reasonof the threaded connection, and the parts may be held in fixed relationwhen adjustment has been effected by lock nuts 55. Springs 56 actbetween members 52 and adjustable nuts 57:, carried one on each threadedportion 53, and these springs normally tend to move the rods Elli, themembers 54, and the angle elements ll to the right. Were no moremechanism present, the springs would always hold the members 45 infrictional engagement with the flanges I6. 'Under such circumstances thetruck would automatically run into the mine. In order that it may runout of the mine, means is provided for positively moving the arms i t tovertical positions, thereby to dis engage the friction members 48 fromth flanges it. To this end toggle devices to are provided at either sideof the truck. These devices each consist of an armi?! mounted on a pivotE32 carried by an ear 53 in fixed relation to the frame of the vehicle,said arm 6! pivotally connected at its other end at 6 3 to an angledmember '55 pivotally connected at it to the member 56. The angledmembers 95 have, as portions thereof, upstanding levers Ghand the upperends of the levers 3? at the opposite sides of the truck are connectedby a cross bar 58 which has projecting handle portions 58A. It will beunderstood that but one toggle device is provided at either side of thetruck. An adjustable stop screw 69 is carried by a shelf-like portion itsecured to each of the levers El, and these stop screws are engageablewith the members 5i to control the degree that the toggle device 66 canmove across center. By the provision of the cross bar 58 the togglemechanisms at both sides of the truck may be operated simultaneously bymeans of either handle por-.

tion 68A.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2 it will be observed that one angle element4'! has at its end away from its associated toggl mechanism an outwardlydirected arm 1!, which is adapted to engage a boss 12 formed on a column0: jack 73 which may :be located alongside the pan line H3 at anydesired point. When the truck in its movements toward the face reachesthe position of the column 73, the arm M will engage the abutment 12 andthrust the angle member 41 to which the arm ii is connectedlongitudinally of the truck and move the friction member 48 out ofgripping relation to the flange i6, compressing the spring 55 asnecessary. The other angle member will be similarly moved, and itsfriction 6 member will also be disengaged. 'I'hu's inward travel towardthe face will be interrupted; and to hold the truck stationary and toprevent out-. ward travelthereof, the truck may desirably be providedwith laterally spaced brackets 15 having a cross pin 15 engageable by areleasable latch member Tl supported on a manually rotated-shaft 18 atthe lower end of the column 13. A handle ms provided for releasin thelatch when desired and the latch has-a slopingnose 30 so thatthe pin 16may lift it, and it has a shoulder or short arm 8! forpreventing the.latch from dropping down too low at its free end. Evidently the truckthetruck willrun out of the mine if it is not held in position after thelevers 67 have been moved to the position shown in Fig. 4, and theengage ment of the arm "H with the abutment 1'2 in fact compresses thesprings 56 sufficiently to move the pivots 66 far enough to the leftrelative tothe truck to permit the toggles to move across center andlook the friction grip devices in inoperative position.

The mode of operation of the invention as so far described will bereadily understood from what has been said. Let it be assumed that thevehicle is at the point from which it is desired to transport a load ofmaterial to the working face, and that it has been loaded, and that theside doors to the compartments 36 have been latched in closed position.The miner will then throw the levers $7 from the position shown in Fig.4 to that shown in Fig. .2. This will permit the springs 56 to cause thefriction gripping devices vto be .:moved into frictional contact withthe -lower surfaces of the flanges l6. During the movement to therightinward movementof the pan line, the friction elements 48will becaused to grip the flanges 16 tightly and the truck will therefore bemoved inward a certain distance. When the opposite movement of the panline occurs, the gripping will be released and the pan line will movebetween the'then freely rotatable wheelsZl. On the next inward thrust ofthe pan'line, gripping will again occur and a further movement of thetruck in an inward direction will be effected. This process will berepeated; of course, over and over, many times a minute,- and the truckwill move into the mine with its load. When it reaches a jack arrangedas above described, the arm H will engage the V abutment l2 and theintermittent grip devices will be forced to released position, and heldreleased.

The latch El will preventthe truck from running back away from the jack.The side covers of the compartments can then be opened and the loaddischarged. When it is desired to have the vehicle travel out of themine, it is simply necessary to unhook the latch T! and the vehicle willpromptly travel outwardly as above described.

From what has been said above, it will be evident that I have provided avery effective conveyor-propelled supply truck-one which requires theestablishment of a gripping relation with the pan line only duringmovement in one direction; one which can be rendered operative orinoperative at will in a very simple manner;

one which has its propulsive. effort terminated automatically onreaching a desired position; and

one which isprevented by latch means associated therewith from startingback away from the face prior to the positive unlatching thereof. 4 1

While there is in this application specifically described one form whichthe invention may assume in practice, it will be understood that thisform of the same is shown for purposes of illustration and that theinvention may be modified and embodied in various other forms withoutdeparting from its spirit or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: v

1. In combination, a shaker conveyor trough having flanged side walls, acar adapted to traverse the conveyor trough and having wheels for ridingon said walls, and intermittent grip devices co-acting with the flangesof said side walls for effecting movement of said car along saidconveyor trough including" shoes arranged beneath at least some of saidwheels, links pivotally connected to said shoes and pivotable about theaxes of said wheels, resilient means for yieldingly moving said shoes topositions with said links at an angle to the vertical and said shoes incontact with said flanges, and means for at will moving said shoes toposition their pivots vertically beneath the axes of pivotal movement ofsaid links including a toggle mechanism positioned to react on said oarand'against said resilient means;

2. In combination, a conveyor trough having side walls, a car adapted totraverse the conveyor trough and having wheels for riding on said sidewalls, and material storage compartments at the outer sides of saidwalls and extending below the tops thereof.

3. In combination, a shaker conveyor trough having flanged side ,walls,a car adapted to traverse the' conveyor trough and having wheels forriding on said walls, at least one intermittent grip device coeactingwith one of the flanges of said side Walls for efiecting movement ofsaid car along said trough, resilient means for thrusting saidintermittent grip device into gripping relation to said flange, andmeans engageable, as said car traverses said trough by an extraneousstationary abutment for overcoming said resilient means and moving saidintermittent grip device to an inoperative position.-

4. In combination, a shaker conveyor trough having flanged side walls, acar adapted to traverse the conveyor trough and having wheels for ridingon said walls, intermittent grip devices co-acting with the flanges ofsaid side walls for efiecting movement of said car along said trough,toggle controlled resilient means for eflecting gripping operation ofsaid intermittent grip devices, and means engageable with an extraneousabutment for overcoming said resilient means and permitting said toggleto move to locked position for interrupting the operation of saidintermittent grip devices.

5. In combination,'a shaker conveyor trough having flanged side walls, acar adapted to traverse the conveyor trough and having wheels for ridingon said walls, intermittent grip devices coacting with the flanges ofsaid side Walls for effecting the movement of said car along saidconveyor trough, means engageable, when said car attains to apredetermined position along said trough, by an extraneous elementrelative to which said car is movable along said trough, for renderingsaid intermittent grip devices inoperative, and means also engageablewith an extraneous element relative to which said car is movable alongsaid trough, for holding said car against retrograde movement when saidintermittent grip devices are rendered inoperative.

JOSEPH F. JOY.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

